Saturday Morning host James Martin wasn’t diagnosed with dyslexia until he was 30 – but he previously revealed he has already come up with some novel ways to overcome it.
The celebrity chef had no idea he had the learning difficulty until he started working in TV and realised that he was struggling to read the autocues.
But James hasn’t let it stop him and has developed an impressive ability to rapidly memorise his lines really quickly.
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What did Saturday Morning chef James Martin say about his dyslexia?
James told Woman & Home in 2018: “So I basically look at the autocue for a second and then say, right, switch it off. As long as it’s there in your head, just let me go.”
The celebrity chef said a BBC boss also sent him on a course where he learned how to keep talking while he was moving around.
Read more: James Martin on why he hates celebrity
“Without her, Saturday Kitchen wouldn’t have been what it was, because the teacher of the course taught me how to walk and talk,” he said.
“The teacher said: ‘Don’t stand there reading like a presenter, because you can’t do it.’ And not many people can walk and talk, but I can’t stand and talk!”
James said that meant he was often walking and talking, but that he could manage it all in one take.
The star also shared that although he didn’t know he had the learning difficulty, it had affected his performance when he was at school – and that he failed cookery.
However, years after leaving school James is now a top celebrity chef and a big name in TV.
He also has a string of cookbooks to his name, which he compiles using a dictaphone.
Being dyslexic has made James determined to succeed
The star said his success is partly because being dyslexic has made him so determined to do well.
Read more: James Martin splits his trousers on live TV as he shows off butter recipes
“I think it’s because you’re proving yourself all the time,” he told Woman & Home, saying it wasn’t about the money.
“It’s about proving to yourself that you can do it because when you were younger you were five to 10 years behind everybody else at school,” he said.
James Martin’s Saturday Morning is on ITV from 9.30am to 11.40am on Saturday.
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